Background of the Study

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Reading is one of the language skills that has very important roles in our life. By reading, people get many advantages such as we will get knowledge, experiences, and even pleasure. That is why reading is very important for people. It is based on the statement of Kennedy 1983:2, that in almost any carrier of profession you may enter, you will be expected to read continually. When we are reading, we got something from the writing such as fact, ideas, enjoyment, information, or perhaps only to spend our spare time. We usually read books or other reading materials or literature works that we like. There are two main reasons for reading, the first is reading for pleasure, and the second is reading for information Grellet, 1992:4. One kind of reading that gives much pleasure and entertainment is reading literature. Reading literature can make us better and get more experiences. The same opinion stated by Rees 1973:3 that by reading literature, we are in some sense making ourselves better people. He also states by learning others people’s experiences, we hopefully will be more tolerant, understand, and even wise to the others. People read novels, short story, or plays in different purposes such as, getting information, just for fun, passing the time, and also enjoying the content of it. 1 Further, Rees 1973:1-2 defines that literature is anything that is written or any writing, such as catalogues and brochures. Hill 1986: 7 states that the use of literary works, however, has been proved to have some advantages: The many educational arguments put forward in the past for including literature, of course, still valid both in, terms of its contribution to the students’ general knowledge and to their intellectual, social moral development as well as its universal appeal to the emotion. Literature can be subdivided into many forms such as prose, fiction, poetry, and drama. Short story, novel, novella, and sometimes vignette can classify as fiction. Short story as form of fiction is the easiest one to understand, not only because it is short, but also has simple language and interesting. A short story as a literary work, often affects our thought or even our way of life, since most of the short stories have messages. If we read a short story critically, probably we will see what the writer wants to say to the readers. A literary work usually has certain messages. A good story can affect our way of thinking and life. Horace cited in Charles 1999: 21 states that literature is sweet and useful, the best writings, teach and delight. Moral education that found in literature can make someone become a better people; know much about human problems an how to solve. Gothic as one kind of genre in literature is one of favorite topic to enjoy. The readers, especially short story readers think that gothic is kind of interesting topic to read. The word “Gothic”, originally meaning “Medieval”, has come to denote a mode of writing that relies on the supernatural to inspire imaginative excitement and terror in the reader. Gothic literature explores the aggression between what we fear and what we lust. The setting of these gothic stories were usually in some kind of castle or old building that showed human decay and created an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Gothic tale, sometimes referred to as Gothic Fiction or Gothic Horror, is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. Gothic literature is intimately associated with the Gothic Revival architecture of the same era. The Fall of the House of Usher is one among many of Edgar Allan Poe’s morbid classics. The literature of Poe is an exciting maze with twists, turns, and something different at every corner. It can be seen through his expansive vocabulary, complete in-depth characters, and spectacular variety of symbols, Poe makes it possible for the reader to see how the beginning of the story foreshadows the events to come. Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, is the one filled with great suspense and horror. By utilizing his extensive vocabulary, he successfully masters the short story. Poe uses many Gothic elements in his story, The Fall of the House of Usher that show how he used Gothicism in his writing. In the other word, Poe use gothic features in his story for the succes of the story. Poe created a strong effect, so that readers will want to keep reading, and the story would appeal to their liking. Poe had always show considerable interest in the ways and forms of spirits, and he knew that many of his readers also had the same interest. In this final project, I analyze the quintessential – features of the Gothic tale that appear in Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. I found quintessential – features of Gothic tale that appear in Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher through its intrinsic elements. I use structuralism approach to find the quintessential-features of gothic tale in the story. Structuralism sees a literary work as independent text. The researches do objectively by analyzing the intrinsic elements of literary work. The beauty of a literary work depends on style of language that is used and relation between the elements. The elements consist of the elements of the text, itself. The elements are ideas, plot, theme, setting, characters, style and tone. The relationship between the elements will build a wholeness of a text. I can analyze and found the gothic features of the story by analyzing the intrinsic elements of the story firstly. .

1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic